EEPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 49 



19. Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitchill). Cow-nosed Ray; Sting Ray. 

 Geog. Dist. : Cape Cod to Florida. 



Season in R. I. : An immense school of these fishes once seen off Block Island 

 by Capt. Mason, of Tiverton. Said to have -been more common formerly. 

 Reproduction: Viviparous, breeding season lasting over five or six months. 

 Food: Chiefly moUuscs; also Crustacea, crabs, and lobsters. 



ACIPENSERID^. The Sturgeons. 



20. Acipenser sturio (Linnaeus). Sturgeon. (Plate I.) 



Geog. Dist.: Ascends rivers of Atlantic coasts of Europe and America. 



Season in R. I. : Rather common in traps off Sakonnet from May to Novem- 

 ber. Said to have been more common formerly; 20 years ago 5 or 6 were 

 caught in traps at a time. Rare in the upper part of Narragansett Bay. 

 One caught off Quonset, June, 1905. Common at Block Island. The 

 young are said to be common in Taunton river. 



Reproduction: Ascends rivers to spawn in spring and summer. 



Food : Molluscs and Crustacea, which it obtains by grubbing in the mud. 



Size : Five to 12 feet, weighing 50 to 300 pounds. 



21. Acipenser brevirostrum (LeSueur) . Short-nosed Sturgeon. (Plate I.) 

 Geog. Dist.: Cape Cod to Florida. 



Season in R. I.: Occurs in company with the common sturgeon but is said 

 by the fishermen to be more numerous. 



SILURID^. The Cat-Fishes. 



22. Felichthys felis (Linna?us). Sea Catfish; Gaff-topsail Catfish. 

 Geog. Dist.: Cape Cod to Texas. 



Season in R. I.: Specimen taken at Brent on's Reef lightship September 16, 

 1898. 



23. Galeichthys milberti (Cuvier). Sea Catfish. 

 Geog. Dist. : Cape Cod to Texas. 



24. Ameiurus nebulosus (LeSueur). Horned Pout; Bullhead. 



Geog. Dist. : Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, to Maine, Florida and Texas. 

 Habitat: Fresh water ponds and streams. 

 Size: Up to IS inches. 



